PH stocks start fourth quarter trading in the red

Stocks started the fourth-quarter trading in the red as investors await the release of key economic data including the September inflation rate.

The main composite index slipped 16.71 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 6,304.53, while the broader all-shares index lost 1.71 points, or 0.05 percent, to settle at 3,399.12.

“The Philippine shares were traded quietly to start the last quarter of the year as the country gears up for a fresh batch of data,” Reginal Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects inflation to continue its upward trend in September from 5.3 percent in August on higher fuel prices and peso deprecation against the US dollar.